But that doesn’t mean the Rockland mom isn’t looking to protect her from them.

That’s why Girard decided to have her daughter receive Gardasil, a vaccine approved for young girls that protects against one of cervical cancer’s most common causes: a sexually-transmitted infection known as HPV, or human papillomavirus.

Federal health officials began to recommend more girls receive the vaccine earlier this year. A study released this month underscores one reason why.

Teen sex rates nationwide have dropped only marginally from 1991 to 2007, while a recent increase in condom use has appeared to stagnate, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.

But some parents, even medical professionals, are reluctant to get the vaccine for their young teen — or tween — daughters.

“I personally would find that an awkward conversation with my 10-year-old,” said Sue Joss, executive director of the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center.

Evelyn Reilly, public policy director for the conservative think-tank the Massachusetts Family Institute, sees no reason for vaccinating young girls against an STD.

“If you don’t sleep around, you’re not going to get it,” she said.

Their comments underscore the range of attitudes parents of daughters have toward the vaccine.

Gardasil was approved in 2006 for girls and women from 9 to 26 years old. It is completed in three rounds over a six-month period, costing $120 a pop.

Although demand for the vaccine is growing, Joss said many parents still have reservations. Pediatricians at the Brockton health center broach the topic with parents of girls at least 13 years old, she said.

“There’s a comfort level that has to build,” Joss said. “It’s just a more natural conversation as you get girls into the teenage years.”

Some focus on cancer prevention rather than sex in talking to their young daughters.

“I really did not get into the whole ‘sexually transmitted’ part of it,” Girard, a doctor at Signature Healthcare in Bridgewater.

“I just said this is a vaccine that is possibly going to prevent cancer down the road,” she said.

Weighing the choices

Dr. Abdel Hammo, chief of pediatrics at Brockton Hospital, has talked to many patients about Gardasil, including his 10- and 15-year-old daughters.

Hammo has decided to wait to have them vaccinated, saying he trusts his girls are not yet sexually active.

He said many parents of prepubescent girls also decide to wait because they put Gardasil in context with other sexual health procedures that usually come later in life.

“You’re not going to do a Pap smear on a 10-year-old,” he said.

In March, the Centers for Disease Control called for more girls to receive Gardasil after a study revealed that one in four teen girls has a sexually transmitted infection.

The study showed HPV was the most common infection, and that overall prevalence of sexually transmitted infections was highest in African-American girls.

Meanwhile, a national CDC study on youth risk behavior released this month showed that:

Almost half of the 14,000 high school students surveyed said they have had sexual intercourse;35 percent were identified as sexually active;Of those who were sexually active, 61.5 percent said they used condoms.

“(Gardasil) is preventative, not a cure, so it’s important that you get the vaccine before beginning sexual activity,” said CDC spokesman Curtis Allen.

The Catholic Medical Association, a national group of Catholic physicians, endorsed the vaccine but not the sexual activity that can cause it.

“Healing and preventing diseases, no matter what their source, are acts of mercy and a moral good,” stated the Catholic Medical Association.

“Prevention of HPV infection is distinct from, and should not be construed as encouraging, the behavior by which HPV is spread,” it stated.

An over-reaction?

The Massachusetts Family Institute last year opposed a Statehouse bill to require the vaccine for 11-year-old girls. Reilly, the public policy director, has mixed feelings about Gardasil’s market presence.

“They don’t know what it will do to young girls long-term, and Merck is looking for a windfall,” she said, referring to the drug’s manufacturer.

Reilly called the vaccine an “over-reaction” because HPV infections can be monitored or reduced by Pap exams and abstinence.

Meanwhile, older teens and women in their 20s are requesting the vaccine.

“Women have been asking for it for a long time,” said Elizabeth Torrant, director of reproductive health for Brockton-based Health Care of Southeastern Massachusetts.

Their clinics offer the vaccine at a low cost for uninsured women, many of whom ask for it after seeing ads on TV, Torrant said. “The marketing has been phenomenal,” she said.

Emily Bardasz, 16, of Easton, fears needles but said her mom encouraged her to get it.

“I didn’t even know it had anything to do with sex at first,” she said.

Lisa Flaherty, 18, of Brockton, said her mother has also persuaded her. “She doesn’t want me to wait too long,” she said.